TEPCO, Japan firms back out of bidding on Malaysian nuclear plant+

SINGAPORE, June 19 Kyodo -
Japanese firms including Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, have informed the governments of Malaysia and Japan of their intent not to bid on a feasibility study for Malaysia's first nuclear power plant, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
Since the type of reactor to be used will be decided based on the feasibility study, one Japanese administration official said that by dropping out of the bidding, Japan has almost no chance of being involved in construction of the power plant. The United States and Russia are showing willingness to enter the project.
Japan has positioned the export of its nuclear power infrastructure to Asia as a key element in the country's economic growth, but the growing antinuclear sentiment both at home and abroad threatens to deal a setback.
There is also a growing sense of caution in Southeast Asian countries that have planned on building nuclear reactors with assistance from Japan.
According to officials of both Japan and Malaysia, TEPCO had planned on making bids through affiliate companies. However, it reconsidered given the difficulty of winning understanding of its involvement domestically and abroad at a stage in which concerns over nuclear power have not subsided.
Although the deadline for submitting bids is early July, other Japanese firms such as Kansai Electric Power Co. are expected to forgo bidding on the project.
Malaysia, seeking to reduce its reliance on oil and natural gas, announced last year its plans to construct two reactors and aimed to start operations in 2021. However, since the nuclear crisis in Japan triggered by the earthquake and tsunami disaster that hit northeastern Japan in March, there is growing anxiety about nuclear power among the public.
When Japanese internal affairs minister Yoshihiro Katayama visited Malaysia in January, he handed a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and offered Japanese assistance in the feasibility study and construction of the nuclear plant.